I just picked up the LG 42LD550 at BB. Since there isn't really a thread I could find on this "middle of the road" LG series I thought it might help to start one. These several models in the LD series covers TVs in 32", 42" 47", 52", 55" and one 60" model. So menuing and settings should be similar, if not the same. At least, according to the LARGE and more complete manual that is available for download on the LG website.

There is/are threads for the LE series and LH series. This way, owners will have a common place to go to post opinions on settings, operation, internet connections, firmware updates, etc. Please limit comments and questions to OWNER related topics rather than comparison to other manufacturers and pricing as clutter will soon build up.
So far I've installed the stand, powered it up, connected to an OTA antenna and scanned the channels. Reception is excellent. I selected the "Standard" setting in the menu for an initial picture setting and have done a few user adjustments, and have set it up right next to my 3 yr. old Mitsubishi LT46231, which is calibrated and has an excellent color pallate still to this day. With the few adjustments I've done, the 42LD550 has excellent color balance with very good detail, even it the darker areas of the picture.

If anyone is interested in this series of models, this should now be a common place to go for actual owners comments and opinions, as well as help for new owners to assist in set up and best viewing options.

For now, it's back to some more run time on my new 42LD550 and trying out the internet options and checking for firmware updates! Cheers!

For first time owners, a very quick picture setup using Cinema picture mode is on P.3 post #65. It will get you familiar with the menu and help provide a little better picture than the factory setting in the Cinema mode.

Jan. 1, 2011
After taking into consideration the feedback from other users for the past several months, I've produced a modified list of settings based on what I hear people seem to want. The ISF values are still very similar to previous ones, but I've included a "range" of the basic settings, plus an increase in basic back light setting. This range of basic settings, may help owners by allowing for room lighting conditions and personal taste. I've also added comments in each list stating that the higher end of settings may cause undesirable effects.

I've provided both a "Warm" ISF calibration and a "Cool" calibration to allow owners to try both or settle on one they prefer. I've found in my exploits that there can be some variation in basic color temperature even in what a DVD or Blu-ray player may provide in it's video signal to the TV. So by choosing either Warm or Cool, it may also help account for this.

Also,these settings are based on updating my i1 Display 2 software (which now seems to track a bit better) and making use of the Energy Saving feature with higher back light settings for day time, and lower at night using the Energy Saving switch if an owner chooses to. I've increased the back light setting and also listed a range of basic brightness, contrast, color, etc to allow for users tastes. This range of basic setting levels, should allow for just about any taste within reason. As always, your mileage may vary, since no two TVs are exactly the same even in the same model.

Save your current settings before using any new ones!

Suggested Settings:

*EDIT*These settings were updated on 1-1-2011 and include new possible ranges of adjustment to allow for user taste and hopefully still provide a decent image. As always, these are baseline settings and your TV and lighting conditions may vary.Check post #314 for some Preset (User) picture mode settings.

There are a number of questions that pop up from new owners so I'll try and list them here as time permits"

What are "calibrated settings"?NOTE: See bottom of this post for a TV tweaking guide.

Calibrated settings for this line of LG TVs refers to using the ISF Expert1 & Expert2 Picture settings in the TV Menu. The TV also comes with "preset" Picture modes of Vivid, Standard, Cinema, Sport , and Game. While these last Picture Modes have limited user adjustments, the ISF Expert modes have a wider range of options and adjustments to picture color, detail, and quality. Calibration usually refers to using external equipment and test media to set the TV gray scale and color temperature as close to 6500K natural color temperature as possible. By doing this and setting other picture controls such as the Backlight, Contrast,Brightness, and Color within a certain range of settings; the best possible picture can be produced by the TV. Since a calibration really needs to be done on each owners TV for the best benefit, settings provided in this thread serve largely as a baseline and can usually improve picture quality compared to the "preset" settings. The settings listed in Post #1 also include a "range" of user adjustment to account for room lighting, differences in exact TV model and screen size, and personal taste. Your TV performance may vary when using the posted calibrated settings. Calibration pertains to doing it with the a particular TV and the equipment connected to it. There is now even a question of how valid a calibration may be since many use a computer, light sensor, and software to do it; while in actual use, a TV is used with it's built in tuner, DVD/Blu-ray player, cable or satellite set top box, game system, or Home Theater PC.
Nevertheless, usually calibrating the gray scale of the TV results in marked improvement in picture quality even if it is just close to the 6500K target. So overall, even using baseline settings from a calibration arrived at by another TV owner and equipment; can be beneficial.

What is a "bias " light?

A "bias" light placed behind the TV, is just a low wattage lamp that provides diffused, indirect light to the area around the TV and the wall/ceiling behind it. Usually you can use a small stick lamp, clamp-on utility lamp from a building supply store, or even rope lights fastened to the rear edge of the TV frame. A 13 watt compact florescent lamp works well, and use a warm white bulb in the 5500K to 6500K region. The color temperature of most CFL bulbs is marked on the package.

Also, it is important to keep other room lighting from shinning directly in the screen or into the sides of your eyes. For best viewing ,any lights should be well off to the sides and and aimed/reflected off the walls and ceiling providing a soft, diffused lighting for the room.

How Do I "Calibrate" my TV?

The only way to truly calibrate your TV is to use professional or maybe consumer grade calibration equipment. However, there are aids available to help you get the best picture quality out of your TV. One of the best is AVS HD709 that can be downloaded here:

If you are savvy with regard to downloading and burning ISO files this is a great aid. Even if you aren't try following the instructions and you will be rewarded!

However, if you wish to just use your eyes and some media you can also use the THX picture adjustment utility on some Disney and other Blu-ray or DVD movies. Basically, you want to keep the LCD panel back light low or mid range, color mid range, Contrast in the 80% range, Brightness in the 50 to 55% range, Color at 50% plus or minus 3, and Tint at zero ( No Tint).

Then you can use a "reference movie" such as Sea Biscuit for making fine tweaks. I am including a guide that also tells why this movie works so well as a near "calibration aid". Give it a try and see if your new TV shines!

For those who may be interested in using Sea Biscuit (you don't have to like the movie & it is very inexpensive) as a follow up reference DVD or Blu-ray after calibration or using a set up media such as AVS HD 709, here is a summary of what to look for using this movie. This movie was particularly well made and has natural as well as very vibrant colors. It also contains many B&W stills that are great to check gray scale. I believe it serves as a "real world" follow up to verify if your TV is displaying all it can in terms of picture detail, color accuracy and level, as well as help in possibly some fine tuning.

I have found that if a movie like Sea Biscuit is displayed properly on a TV that any movie will looks it's best. Owners may be surprised at what Sea Biscuit reveals about the time they put into a calibration or using other "tweaking" aids.

We owned this set since the end of June and absolutely love it. I have calibrated it using HCFR and an i1Pro meter. Attached are the setting for those interested and yes I know they will vary from set to set, but for those that want to try them here they are.

We owned this set since the end of June and absolutely love it. I have calibrated it using HCFR and an i1Pro meter. Attached are the setting for those interested and yes I know they will vary from set to set, but for those that want to try them here they are.

Also, I've included some of the calibration results.

Thanks for the post! Reviews? This set is one of best kept secrets out there. I think the only reason we don't see reviews on a lot of sets from many many manufacturers is just the sheer number of sets flooding the market. LG alone has so many models/sizes that to review all of them would be daunting. I selected this set after comparing similar, albiet pricier sets, in the Samsung, Sony, and also other LG models. I also purchased and compared a lower priced Vizio SV420M , set them up side by side , calibrated both and used them side by side for a week. The Vizio has great features also, a wide range of inputs, user friendly menus and adjustments. I really wanted to like the Vizio given it's price, but for $130 more the 42LG550 has the edge and the performance of high end HDTV. These sets are also getting a little hard to find. I got mine at one of the big box stores, but had to check several online to find one that had it in stock. The set is avaialbe from many retailers for online order and some with instore pickup.

The LD550 series turns out to be actually a very capable and feature rich HDTV. This set has much in common with the LED "LH" series that has posts on another thread. The sharpness, color, detail, available inputs, and internet features are right up there with sets costing $100 - $500 more. I personally selected it for it's excellent color balance (especially yellow/greens) over similar higher priced Samsung and Sony models.

The semi matte screen performs wonderfully in a well lighted daytime environment like I have, and yet also produces an outstanding display of both OTA HDTV programs and Blu-ray DVD material. All inputs can be separately calibrated and you can also transfer baseline settings from one initial starting point/input to others to save time by tweaking those settings later for each input. There is also a little know "ISF Day/Night" code you can use to lock one or both ISF settings to keep them from accidently being adjusted after calibrating. These settings will still be available for adjustment, but only after first entering the lock key code. This is similar to what the the more expensive LH series has at half the price.

I connected the 42LD550 to my home network using the wired CAT5 RJ45 connector and the TV recognized and connected immediately. The included YouTube works great on even my medium speed AT&T Pro connection. Also included is Netflix, VuDu Yahoo widgets ( very handy ) and "Picasa" web album photo application.

The 120HZ "Judder" and "Blur" settings for smooth motion are independently adjustable for each input to add up to 5 levels of anti judder and blur reduction to the users tastes. I must say the results are what I would expect on TVs costing much more than the $700 to $850 this TV currently sells for.

I will try and post a more detailed review. I have gone through calibrating my 42LD550 over the last few days, letting it get some run time before attempting. I will post my settings and also note that I used ISF Expert1 and ISF Expert2 for slightly different settings, mainly " Day" or "Night" viewing.

I calibrated the set using my Sony BDP-S550 Blu-ray player, Avia Video Essentials, 2 photo colorometers , and final viewing using what I find to be one of the best reference DVDs produced in the last 5 years... "Seabiscuit". This DVD has all of what you need to check real world gray scale, red/green push, and subtle flesh tones all in the first 7 minutes of viewing. I have used this DVD ( actually 4 personal ones) on all my sets as well as friends sets I have calibrated for them. I usually show a person this DVD before calibrating using whatever "picture mode" they find appealing to their tastes. Then , after calibrating, I show it again and they are usually really impressed with the natural, vibrant, life-like pictures they see.

I will post my settings for owners to try, noting that your viewing and lighting conditions may differ. I highly recommend using the two ISF settings for separate "Day" and "Night viewing modes. They are easily switched with a single button on the remote. I also recalibrated several other picture modes for my own tastes for viewing sports for daytime or night viewing. I have a little more color, contrast and sharpness to these settings. Family and friends seem to like the "boosted" snap of these settings. I know, not as close to ISF settings , but some people like a little more sizzle to their TV viewing. Hey,while I am a TV junky, most people just like a snazzy picture. After all... it is just TV!

I saw an LG 42LD550 sitting adjacent to a Sony KDL-40EX500 and was super impressed by the LG's picture quality. This may be the new mid-priced sleeper of the 2010 model year.

Thanks for starting this very worthwhile thread.

I agree, and you are quite welcome. I was looking for a 42" set in the $700 - $800 price range with this kind of performance and features and I was more than pleasantly surprised with it. This set has the ISF adjustments usually available only an much higher end TVs.

Maybe now with this thread more people will look for and purchase this unit along with accompanying comments and experiences.

Here is a link to the LG site for a much more detailed manual and evidence that this set has roots in LGs higher end products. Once you get to this page, click on the "Support " tab and look for the pdf manual file on the upper right of the page. You can download the very sizable manual using the info on the website page.

I have found no information in the larger manual on the LG website that indicates this US model will do PAL. I do remember during research seeing a European model that was similar and was of course PAL. I think I found it via the LG world wide website.

We owned this set since the end of June and absolutely love it. I have calibrated it using HCFR and an i1Pro meter. Attached are the setting for those interested and yes I know they will vary from set to set, but for those that want to try them here they are.

Also, I've included some of the calibration results.

Thanks for the settings. I see you have your backlight down to 17. I also agree that the lower setting the better for best black levels with the added benefits of less power usage and potentially longer CCFL life. I am able to get away with my Mitsubishi set to between 18 and 20, with about 165 watts of power usage, but so far with my new LG 42LD550, around 30 -32 seems to be the lowest I can do in my viewing environment.

When I have a bit more time, I'll try one of your settings and see how it works for my particular set/viewing. This is the stuff owners or potential buyers are interested in. Thanks again!

To get to any of the picture modes, you select "Menu", "Picture", then look for ISF Expert1 or ISF Expert2. Or, use the "Ratio" button and use the resulting menu to sellect the picture icon on the rotary "dial" to see the various available picture modes, including Expert1 and Expert2.

You can use the link in a previous post to get all the info you want and more on the LG website, for specs and operation.

To get to any of the picture modes, you select "Menu", "Picture", then look for ISF Expert1 or ISF Expert2. Or, use the "Ratio" button and use the resulting menu to sellect the picture icon on the rotary "dial" to see the various available picture modes, including Expert1 and Expert2.

You can use the link in a previous post to get all the info you want and more on the LG website, for specs and operation.

Oh ok. Some reason, the way I read it, it sounded like it was soft locked out and it needed a special remote sequence to unlock.

Oh ok. Some reason, the way I read it, it sounded like it was soft locked out and it needed a special remote sequence to unlock.

No there is no code to get to the ISF modes themselves, but there IS a code to lock in either a "Day" or "Night" ISF calibration if you wish to "lock" in the settings to avoid accidental (or kid/wife) fiddling.

Here is a quick user adjustment for off the air antenna TV viewing. Should also work for cable if you are still using the tuner. I have another calibration I will post (Page 3 of this thread) for HDMI 1 with my Sony BDP-S550 Blu-ray as input. Note, I feel this is a good starting point if you have a well lighted room in the daytime, and also a good display even for night time viewing, without having to switch to another picture mode. I have found wives usually just like to turn the set on and watch it.

Enter Menu: Select "Picture", Look for "Picture Mode", then enter these levels in the settings listed:

EDIT: These were initial trial settings. For final settings, please view the post * #61 * in this Thread.

Here is my calibration for my HDMI1 input connected to my Sony BDP-S550 Blu-ray player. Keep in mind that many or most Blu-ray or DVD players have their own picture settings and adjustments. I suggest you set the LG 42LD550 up with the one of the following 2 settings, then set your particular player to give you the best black level (brightness), white level (contrast), and color results.
I posted an "Alternate" setting for R, G, B, settings since, settings that are made to get as close to 6500K gray scale are sometimes too "yellow" for some peoples tastes. I would suggest that if you are not used to a TV set at 6500K to give it a chance and watch several DVDs with these settings and see how it just makes the picture come alive with natual and vibrant color and detail.

Note: At this point I have not used the "Color Management Settings" for tint and color. These settings provide very subtle adjustments to color and tint for the entire spectrum. So far, this TV provides really good viewing with what I've posted. I will delve into these adjustments in the near future to determine if they can futher refine the image. Keep in mind, many of these adjustments inter react to each other. For instance, when setting IRE at the 40, 50, and 60 points I had to go back and forth between them several times to get a good balance. And then still go over the whole IRE range with minor tweaks.

Thanks for the settings. I see you have your backlight down to 17. I also agree that the lower setting the better for best black levels with the added benefits of less power usage and potentially longer CCFL life. I am able to get away with my Mitsubishi set to between 18 and 20, with about 165 watts of power usage, but so far with my new LG 42LD550, around 30 -32 seems to be the lowest I can do in my viewing environment.

When I have a bit more time, I'll try one of your settings and see how it works for my particular set/viewing. This is the stuff owners or potential buyers are interested in. Thanks again!

You're welcome. For those that want to calibrate their LG set with a meter, see what I discovered about the CMS on this (and their 450 model) here:

I read your post regarding your observation about green. I did notice some color error in the yellow/green shades. In fact, most other sets I have viewed seem to have an inordinate green tint when displaying bright yellow or even sometime golds. I do see some error in yellow leaning towards the green side. Is this what you have also seen? This set still seems better than the majority I have seen in stores, and I surmised that if the set looked better than most in "torch" mode at the store, it had to be good at home. There are many mid priced sets TVs out there that don't come close to the adjustments that the LG "LD"series has. With your calibration equipment, I can see why this set appealed to you. It is a calibrators delight.

I just got this tv, haven't had it a week and I have bricked it. I love the tv. It's my first HDTV, so now I'm dead inside.
I was dicking around with it. I THINK i defaulted the firmware. I highlighted Options and pressed #9 7 times. I may have turned the tv off or it did it itself. Now when I turn on the tv it just shows the LG logo and the clock with --:--. It doesn't respond to any buttons except Power. I've already called LG had a service guy come out. He tried using the service remote to do stuff, and plugged in a thumb drive, to no avail. He has ordered a part to replace it, but it is on back order and will take about a week. I REALLY don't want to wait (of course), so I was hoping there was something I could at least try. Such as reloading the firmware or something?

I read your post regarding your observation about green. I did notice some color error in the yellow/green shades. In fact, most other sets I have viewed seem to have an inordinate green tint when displaying bright yellow or even sometime golds. I do see some error in yellow leaning towards the green side. Is this what you have also seen? This set still seems better than the majority I have seen in stores, and I surmised that if the set looked better than most in "torch" mode at the store, it had to be good at home. There are many mid priced sets TVs out there that don't come close to the adjustments that the LG "LD"series has. With your calibration equipment, I can see why this set appealed to you. It is a calibrators delight.

As I recall yellow dialed in quite nicely (had a dE of 2.6). It was primarily green, but that's because I tried to move the 100% saturation point by using the color and tint controls. If I had done the same with red and blue they would have looked off also (although I think I would have noticed the green the most due to all of the soccer and golf that was on at the time). Once you use the color and tint controls for RGB to dial in the 75% saturation points the picture looks very very good.

Not sure if anyone can answer this. Vudu says it has Dolby Digital Plus audio streams. 1. Does the TV itself decode DD+ or does it request standard DD from Vudu. 2. Using Optical out from the TV, using Vudu, does it send the same DD+ track out?

Not sure if anyone can answer this. Vudu says it has Dolby Digital Plus audio streams. 1. Does the TV itself decode DD+ or does it request standard DD from Vudu. 2. Using Optical out from the TV, using Vudu, does it send the same DD+ track out?

I have it connected to my Boston AVR7120 Digital AV receiver and all audio so far has come up Dolby Digital II, unless the particular source is outputing something like mpeg or plain vanilla Dolby Digital. VuDu indicates 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus when connected. Hope this helps.